Springfield Park

What we’ve done in the past 3 months:

• we have erected scaffolding around the house and stables
• we have started underpinning works to the house
• the ground work for the community centre has been completed
• the structural strip out of the house and stables has been completed
• the internal structural works, such as creating partition walls and door openings, in the house and stables has been completed

What we plan in the next 3 months:

• Springfield House – over the next 3 months we will complete the lift shaft, start external decoration and start building the new extension
• stable block – we will install new windows and start staircase works
• community events building – we will complete construction of the steel frame and start the brickwork, cladding and roof works
• pond improvement works – the pond will soon be fenced off to enable us to rebuild the pond edges, install new planting add a new pond dipping area, clear pond debris to improve water quality and reduce some of the overgrown vegetation

Springfield Park is a Grade II listed park. It contains one Grade II listed building and although it’s not on the ‘at risk’ register, Springfield House and the adjacent stable block are in poor condition and in need of refurbishment to halt decline.

The now demolished glasshouses were closed to the public for many years, and were unsafe for public use.

The bowling green and pavilion have been closed for a long time to the public and are in need of refurbishment. In addition, the park’s rustic shelter and bandstand both need to be restored; footpaths, edges and drainage are in need of refurbishment, the park’s hillside needs to be made accessible to those with mobility problems, and the pond needs to be de-silted and re-edged.

The play area in the lower part of the park also needs refurbishment and parents have asked for a play offer for younger children closer to the toilets and cafe.

The £4m Springfield Park restoration project provides the opportunity of addressing these issues of long-term decline and allows refurbishment of the park and its buildings. The Council is able to prevent buildings from becoming unusable and address health and safety concerns but it does not have the resources to pay for the substantial improvement works that are needed.

We’d like to thank our partners, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Big Lottery Fund, Historic Houses Foundation and the London Charitable Marathon Trust for their vital project funding which has enabled this project to be delivered.

Restoring Springfield Park

The restoration project will restore Springfield House and the stables, replace the old derelict glasshouse with a new community events venue, provide new play facilities, make improvements to parkland and provide a range of programmes for local people to enjoy.

Building and surrounds

Springfield House will be restored to being a house again, with four complete rooms downstairs and upstairs, and an attractive linking staircase. A lift will be added to offer level access to all floors. All other functional aspects (the kitchen and servery, toilets and storage) will be moved to a new annex building and to the lower ground floor of the house. Moving these out of the main section of the house will allow the rooms to return back to their original order and character.

The front of the house will be smartened up for outdoor cafe seating. A new courtyard space between the new community events building and the stable block will connect to the park. This will provide a new sheltered space for sitting and looking into the park.

Generating income

The renovated park and its buildings will need to help finance their future maintenance. Careful consideration has been given to how Springfield Park can help to support itself. It is planned that four office units in the refurbished stables will be let out to businesses to bring in rental income to be reinvested into the park. The new community events venue will also provide essential income for the future sustainability of the park.

Play

There will be a new junior and toddler play area, which will be located close to the cafe and toilets. It will be a dog free area and fenced with a low hedge helping to blend it in with other trees and shrubs nearby. The lower play area will be refurbished and maintained for older age groups.

Landscape

The pond will be cleared of silt and improvements made to the habitat.

More planting is also proposed for the park’s boundaries. In some places this will focus on restoring a garden style and in other places planting will focus on adding biodiversity.

The principal aims of the project are to:

• restore the park’s heritage, its historic landscape design and its natural and built heritage
• widen its visitor base, and its appeal and use for local communities
• foster a greater sense of community ownership and contribution to the management of the park
• generate income that will contribute to the financial security of the park’s fabric
• improve connections to the surrounding landscape.

The project aims to build close associations between people and the park through stimulating deeper understanding and enriched perceptions of it. There are plans for active engagement and this is a critical aspect of every National Lottery Heritage funded project.

Planned special events and community engagement programme will engage people with the park’s heritage. This will include the park’s archaeology and early history (Roman and Saxon); 19th century social history, London’s expansion, plant collections; geology, hydrology and wildlife. Online heritage resources will be provided for the project.

Engaging with schools is a further important part of the programme, and this includes providing schools resource packs.

The project will develop people’s skills through work placements, training volunteers and apprentices. Volunteering will be actively encouraged and healthy living activities will also feature in the programme.

The design team for the restoration project is being led by conservation architects Pringle Richards Sharratt Limited.

Construction is being carried out by Borras. The contract total value is £3.4m.

Detailed planning permission and listed building consent for the restoration project was granted in 2017. Construction begins in September 2019 and is expected to be completed in Autumn 2020.

The park cafe and toilets have now relocated to the bowling green during the work.

There is only one footpath diverted during the works and this will be clearly signposted on site. The footpath in question, is the path that runs past the front of the house and down towards the viewpoint shelter.

We’ll be doing everything we can to ensure that the construction causes as little disruption as possible to local people, although we’ll have to make some changes for safety.

Noise, vibration, dust and fumes will be kept to an absolute minimum as works progress. The works have been planned to minimise any impact on the existing environment.

Borras’s working hours are:

• Monday to Friday: 8am – 5pm
• Saturday: 8am – 1pm
• Sunday and Bank Holidays: closed

If you have any questions about the restoration works please contact 020 8356 8428 or email parks@hackney.gov.uk.